Bale thrower for hay baler



Jan. 4, 1966 P. L. MAY

BALE THROWER FOR HAY BALER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 17, 1960BY QM D. f"

Jan. 4, 1966 P. L. MAY 3,227,262

BALE THROWER FOR HAY BALER Original Filed Nov. 17, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2f-ZibQ/ Jan. 4, 1966 P. L. MAY

BALE THROWER FOR HAY BALER 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Nov. 17, 1960INVENTOR. 55

Jan. 4, 1966 P. L. MAY

BALE THROWER FOR HAY BALER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Nov. 17, 1960mm E WW1 mxw INVENTOR.

BY I CWQ United States Patent 3,227,262 f BALE THROWER FOR HAY BALERPatrick Lewis May, Memphis, Tenn., assignor tolnternational HarvesterCompany, Chicago, III., a corporation of New .Iersey Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 69,883, Nov. 17,

1960. This application Sept. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 307,76 10 Claims. (Cl.198-128) I This is a continuation of my copending application No.69,883, filed on November 17, 1960, now abandoned.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide means for throwingbales of hay from a hay baler to a trailing wagon.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a seriesof roller elements rotatably driven at high speed and gripping the upperand lower surfaces of a bale of hay, which is discharged from therollers at a high rate of speed and in a trajectory adequate to depositthe bale in a trailing wagon.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for varying thespeed of a bale thrower, whereby a .bale of hay may be propelled forvarying distances through space and deposited in a wagon. I

Other important objects and advantages will become apparent from thespecification and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view showingthe rear portion of a hay baler and atrailing wagon;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the discharge part of the FIGURE 4 is adetail viewv of the gear drive employed in FIGURE 3 arranged in anoptional mannerfor gaining different speeds of the conveyor; I 7

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3; a

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken through one of the rollers of thisinvention; and

FIGURE 7 is a view of a portion of the V-belt drive mechanism for theroller of FIGURE 6, showing it in a different driving arrangement. g

In the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates generally a bale-formingchamber, disposed in the line of draft of the implement. Bale-formingchamber 10 is mounted on a frame 11 and is equipped with a twine orwire-carrying needle 12 mounted on crank 13. A super structure 14carries drive elements. 7

Drive is secured from tractor power take-off 15. The shaft 15 is joinedby crank 16, which is utilized to pack harvested hay into thebale-forming chamber 10 by means not shown. The crank 16 carries driveto shaft 17 disposed in a longitudinal direction substantially parallelto and spaced above the bale-forming chamber 10.

Shaft 17 is journaled for bearingasupport in the super structure 14carried on forming chamber 10 and joins universal joint 18 which, inturn, joins telescoping shafts 19. Telescoping shafts 19 terminate in ajuncture with universal joint 20, which isutilized to transmit drivefrom power take-off shaft 15 to gear box 21 at the rear of theimplement. w

A bale chamber tensioning means 22 is provided at the rear of beechamber 10. The tensioning means 22 includes a hand crank 23 and coilspring 24, which holds the upper and lower walls of the bale chamber Illtogether under a predeterminedload. The rear end 25 of bale chamber .10is where bales emerge from the chamber It An inclined floor or trough 26at the outer end 25 of the bale chamber 10 provides a surface over whichthe bales slide. The continuous formation of bales in the forward end ofthe bale chamber 10 causes the preceding bales to be pushed rearwardly,so that no auxiliary means for conveying the bales up incline 26 isnecessary. Inclined floor 26 joins to the bale thrower 27.

The baler has a rearwardly extending hitch member 28 located at aposition below the inclined floor 26. Hitch member 28 is joined totongue 29 of wagon 30mounted on wheels 31. Auxiliary bracing member 32is joined at 33 to the wagon tongue 29 and at 34 to the inclined floor26 of the hay baler.

In FIGURE 3, gear box 21 contains large bevel gear 34 on shaft 35 whichextends from universal joint 20 through housing 21. The large bevel gear34 engages the relatively small bevel gear 36 on shaft 37, which isdisposed at a right angle to shaft 35. Large drive gear 34 and smalldriven gear 36 insure a fast drive for output shaft 37. Shaft 37 isjournaled in bearing 38 on pedestal 39 of frame 11, similar to pedestal40 on which the gear housing 21 is mounted. The outer end of shaft 37has mounted thereon a large V-belt pulley 41. A doublefaced V-belt 42 onpulley 41 extends upwardly and rearwardly as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2and engages small idler pulley 43.

The balethrower 27 comprises a frame structure fastened to the dischargeportion of the baler. The. structure includes a bottom or lower framemember 44, which is an extension of inclined discharge trough 26. Thebottom 44 of bale thrower 27 is inclined at a steeper angle than trough26 and has a plurality of rollers 45, 46, and 47 arranged therealong andjournaled in pillow-block bearings 48, 49, and 50 supported on framemember 44. Upper frame member 51, which is parallel to bottom 44,carries rollers 52, 53, and 54 supported on hangertype bearings 55, 56,and 57. Bearings 55, 56, and 57 are similar to pillow-block bearings 48,49., and 50. Rollers 45, 46, and 47 on the bottom of the devicecooperate with upper rollers 52, 53, and 54 to form a bale transferpassageway and to engage a hay bale therebetween. By rotating therollers as shown the bale is forcibly discharged upwardly and rearwardlyat the angle of inclination of the parallel frame members 44 and 51.

As shown in FIGURE 2, V-belt pulleys 58, 59, and 60 are mounted on theouter ends of shafts 61, 62, and 63, respectively, carrying the rollers45, 46, and 47 constituting the lower series of rollers of thisbale-throwing device; Similarly the upper rollers have V-pulleys 64, 65,and 66 mounted on shafts 67, 68, and 69, respectively.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the V-belt 42 passes sinuously from idler pulley43 over the V-pulley 66 on roller 54, down and under the V-pulley 60 onroller 47, then upwardly and over the V-pulley on center roller 53, downand under pulley 59 on the roller 46, upwardly over the V-pulley 64 onroller 52 and then down under V-pulley 58 on lower shaft 61. The V-belt42 then continues up around the large V-pulley 41 and back to itsstarting point at idler 43.

The serpentine path of the V-belt 42 causes rotation of the lowerrollers, as shown by arrow in FIGURE 5, and rotation of the upperrollers, as shown by arrow 71. Thus as bales 72 formed in thebale-forming chamber 10 are discharged to the inclined floor 26, theyare engaged by the rollers 45 and 52 and propelled upwardly andrearwardly into the box of the wagon 30. Element 73, the end of thetrough 26, is bent upward to guide the bale into the rolls.

The belt 42 is double V-belt, a V on 'both upper and lower surfaces, asshown in FIGURES 6 and 7. When the belt is drawn over and under theV-pulleys shown in FIGURE 2, first one side and then the other side ofthe belt engages the V-pulleys. I

The V-pulleys 58, 59., 60, 64, .65, and 66 are made as shown in FIGURES6 and 7. The description given here of V-pulley 60 is equally applicableto all of the other pulleys. The pulley 60 is divided into two halves,one half 74 having an integral hub 75 is afiixed to the shaft 63 bymeans of a cross pin 76. The other pulley half 77 has an integralannular flange 78 which slides on the shaft 63, producing variablespacings between the pulley halves 74 and 77, as shown in FIGURE 7.Spring 79, which normally urges the pulley half 77 against and/or towardthe pulley half 74, abuts against washerlike member 80, which is held onshaft 63 by pin 81. The spring allows the V-pulley to change itseffective diameter as the idler is tightened or loosened, therebyeffecting a change in the speed of the rollers. The idler position iscontrolled by rope 110 shown in FIGURE 2, that the operator can pullfrom the tractor seat.

In FIGURE 6, shaft 63 for roller 47 is mounted on bearings 50 on frame44. The bearings 50 are of the pillow-block type and are self-aligningbecause of the spherical housings 82. Spherical housings 82 preventbinding when the rollers are slightly misaligned and insure free andeasy rotation thereof.

The construction of the rolls used in ejecting the bales is shown indetail in FIGURE 6. It should be understood that the construction may beany one of many forms and that the form shown is only one acceptableform.

The roller 47 comprises a plurality of laminated disks of rubber with orwithout fabric impregnations. These may be rubber-tire carcass disks asshown at 83. The tire carcass disks have a central aperture 34 forfitting over the shaft 63. The disks 83 are compressed together by endcollars 85 and 86 at opposite ends of the roller. The collars 85 and 86are affixed to shaft 63 by cross pins 87 and 88 hold the laminated tirecarcass disks 83 in assembled relationship. The disks are held underslight compression to form a roughened and tough surface for engagementwith the bale 72. The tire carcass has a fabric inner liner, about whichthe rubber is molded, thus constituting a reinforcement for the rollerand insuring it a long life. Any roll, whether made of flexible or rigidmaterial and with or without special surface conformations, is operablein the bale thrower.

As shown in FIGURE 2, a rope 110 from the tractor seat goes aroundroller 89 and fastens to a square rod. Spring 91 fastens to this squarerod at the same point that the rope is attached. This square rod is thesame member that the belt idler 43 is mounted on. The rod slides throughsquare holes in the upper frame 51. The operator pulls the rope totighten the belt. Tightening the belt reduces the effective diameter ofthe spring load V-sheaves 66 causing the speed of the rollers to beincreased.

A locking device (not shown in drawings) near the front of the balerlocks the rope so that a particular roller speed can be maintained. Thepurpose of the spring is to return the idler pulley to a looser positionwhen the rope 110 is released and locked at a different point. With thebelt idler in a looser position, the effective diameter of the springloaded V-pulleys becomes larger, thereby slowing the speed of therollers.

As shown in the drawings, substantial bracing is used in the balethrower to prevent distortion and to maintain the fixed spacing of therollers 45, 46, and 47 on the lower side and 52, 53, and 54 on the upperside. Reinforcing members are shown at 94 in FIGURE 5, 95 in FIGURE 5,96 in FIGURE 2, and a cross-bracing in FIGURE 3 at 97 and 98.

In FIGURE 2, a spacer member 99 between the lowermost rollers 45 and 46of the lower series of rollers prevents undesired angling of thedischarging bale 72 between the rolls. Member 99 spaced between therolls 45 and 46 insures the feeding of the bale 72 to the active drivingsurfaces of the roller 46 from the roller 45. A reinforcing brace member100 is provided substantially at the discharge end of the ejectingmechanism and is disposed between the lower parallel frame member 44 andthe upper parallel frame member 51 intermediate rollers 46 and 47 on thelower side and rollers 53 and 54 on the upper side.

In operation, the implement is propelled through a field of hay, wherehay is picked up and fed into the baleforming chamber 19 and formed intobales and, thence, fed rearwardly to the discharge opening 25. The balesare pushed up the inclined trough 26 by succeeding bales. Each bale isguided by the member 73 onto the roller 45 and beneath the driven roller52. Immediately upon the bale 72 entering between the rolls 45 and 52,which are rotating at very high speeds in the direction of the arrows 70and 71, respectively, the bale is pulled and directed upwardly andrearwardly between the similarly driven rolls 46 and 47 on the lowerside and 53 and 54 on the upper side, thus throwing the bale intotrailing wagon 30. The operation continues until the wagon 30 is filledwith bales, whereafter the wagon is emptied and the operation of balingresumed.

In certain instances when the throwing mechanism is not needed, there isprovided an alternate position of the gear box 21, shown in FIGURE 4,wherein the gear box is turned at right angles to its present position.The bevel gear 36 then becomes the driving gear and the large bevel gear34 becomes the driven gear whereby the speed of the power take-off shaft15 from the tractor or other pulling vehicle is reduced. In suchposition, the rollers rotate at considerably reduced speeds and allowmanual loading of bales from the baler to a trailer.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be variedthroughout a wide range without departing from the principles disclosedherein. I do not, therefore, propose to limit the patent granted hereonotherwise than as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bale thrower for attachment to a hay baler, comprising: a firstsupport, a first group of rollers for accelerating a base of hay totrajection velocity mounted along said first support, a second support,a second group of rollers for accelerating a bale of hay to trajectionvelocity mounted along said second support, said first and said secondgroups of rollers together forming a bale transfer passageway having abale inlet at one end and a bale outlet at the other end thereof, eachof said rollers extending transversely of said passageway and beingengageable directly with a bale of hay in said passageway, mountingmeans joined to at least one of said supports for attachment of saidbale thrower to a hay baler, and drive means connected to said rollersfor rotating them at bale-trajecting speed, whereby a bale of hayinserted in said bale inlet and traversing said passageway will beaccelerated to a velocity sufiicient to traject said bale to a pointsubstantially removed from said bale thrower.

2. A bale thrower as recited in claim 1, wherein each roller of saidfirst group is paired with a roller of said second group, the rollers ofeach such pair of rollers being parallel to one another, and wherein theinlet of said bale transfer passageway comprises one of said pairs ofrollers, the outlet of said bale transfer passageway comprises anotherof said pairs of rollers, the distance between the centerlines ofadjacent rollers of a group is less than the length of a bale of hay,and the distance between said one pair of rollers and said other pair ofrollers is at least equal to the distance required for a bale of hay toattain trajection velocity when said rollers are rotated at saidbale-trajecting speed.

3. A bale thrower as recited in claim 2, wherein said bale transferpassageway has a lower side and an upper side and said first group ofrollers comprises said lower side and said second group of rollerscomprises said upper side.

cooperating with said belt for moving it around said rollers toward saidinlet at bale-trajecting speed.

6. A bale thrower as recited in claim 5, wherein an adjustable beltpulley for said belt is attached to each said roller for varying thespeed of said bale thrower.

7. A bale thrower as recited in claim 6, wherein each said pulleycomprises a first portion fixed to its roller and a second portionslidable longitudinally along its roller.

8. A bale thrower as recited in claim 4, wherein: said rollers are madeof a plurality of rubber tire carcass disks held under endwisecompression.

9. A bale thrower as recited in claim 1, wherein:

each group of rollers consists of three rollers.

10. A bale thrower for attachment to a hay baler, comprising: mountingmeans for attachment of said bale thrower to a hay baler, said mountingmeans including a bale passageway, a supporting structure includingupper and lower members projecting from said mounting means in anupwardly direction longitudinally of said bale passageway, said uppermember being spaced from said lower member, a plurality of rollers fortrajecting a bale of hay rotatably mounted on said upper member andextending transversely of said bale passageway, a plurality of rollersfor trajecting a bale of hay rotatably mounted on said lower member andextending transversely of said bale passageway, said upper and lowerbale-trajecting rollers forming an extension of said bale passageway andbeing directly engageable with a bale of hay located therein, and drivemeans connected to said rollers for rotation thereof at bale trajectingspeed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 530,333 12/1894Garland 198-127 1,767,914 6/1930 Boudin 198--127 2,007,910 7/1935Stephens 198--203 2,135,214 11/1938 Moore.

2,169,623 8/1939 Weiss 198-192 2,219,856 10/1940 Weston.

2,744,616 5/1956 Shields 198167 3,095,961 7/1963 Hollyday 1981283,132,754 5/1964 Smoker 21483 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

ERNEST A FALLER, Examiner.

1. A BALE THROWER FOR ATTACHMENT TO A HAY BALER, COMPRISING: A FIRSTSUPPORT, A FIRST GROUP OF ROLLERS FOR ACCELERATING A BASE OF HAY TOTRAJECTION VELOCITY MOUNTED ALONG SAID FIRST SUPPORT, A SECOND SUPPORT,A SECOND GROUP OF ROLLERS FOR ACCELERATING A BALE OF HAY TO TRAJECTIONVELOCITY MOUNTED ALONG SAID SECOND SUPPORT, SAID FIRST AND SAID SECONDGROUPS OF ROLLERS TOGETHER FORMING A BALE TRANSFER PASSAGEWAY HAVING ABALE INLET AT ONE END AND A BALE OUTLET AT THE OTHER END THEREOF, EACHOF SAID ROLLERS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID PASSAGEWAY AND BEINGENGAGEABLE DIRECTLY WITH A BALE OF HAY IN SAID PASSAGEWAY, MOUNTINGMEANS JOINED TO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SUPPORTS FOR ATTACHMENT OF SAIDBALE THROWER TO A HAY BALER, AND DRIVE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID ROLLERSFOR ROTATING THEM AT BALE-TRAJECTING SPEED, WHEREBY A BALE OF HAYINSERTED IN SAID BALE INLET AND TRAVERSING SAID PASSAGEWAY WILL BEACCELERATED TO A VELOCITY SUFFICIENT TO TRAJECT SAID BALE TO A POINTSUBSTANTIALLY REMOVED FROM SAID BALE THROWER.